Deep Dark
by DaugtheroftheSon
Summary: The Dark Wild is encroaching on the haven of Halloween Town, but what can a nineteen-year-old dead girl do about it? *Leave reviews please!*
1. Prologue

**A/N: Well, here is my newest project. I watched The Nightmare Before Christmas and was inspired. I have never committed to writing something so long and I won't stay committed unless people tell me that this is worth reading. So..whether or not this thing gets very far is up to you, the readers. So, without further ado...  
**

* * *

**Deep Dark**

**This whole thing is dedicated to my sister, Grace. ;)**

**Death is a wild night and a new road.**

** -Emily Dickinson**

**Prologue:**

Most people would seem to agree that the darkest part of the night is just before the dawn. But for someone with a guilty heart, or a heavy load, or a great loss- it is a known fact that the darkest part of the night is the dawn itself. To a soul in turmoil, night doesn't end when the brilliant rays of the newborn sun dispel the darkness. The light only brings the hard reality of a situation into focus.

Anna James watched the sun rise over the foggy Rockies through tear-rimmed eyes. The huge bay window in her daughter's room had always had the best view in the house. She smiled sadly and ran a hand over the coverlet on the bed behind her. She shifted her back to move around a screw in the bed frame and sighed.

"It's still true." she whispered.

"It's been true for about three weeks, Anna." answered a husky voice from the doorway.

Anna turned her head to look at Mark leaning heavily against the door frame. His eyes were bloodshot and his stubble was heavier than normal. It actually had begun to look like a beard. Anna bit her bottom lip as it quivered. Fat tears spilled down over her cheeks. Then she dissolved.

Her husband shuffled over and sank down beside her. His huge arms encircled her small, wasted frame as she shook with sobs. He ran a hand through her hair, tears running down his own face.

"Explain this to me!" Anna wept, her voice choked with tears.

"It's okay, Anna. It's okay." Mark whispered. His own resolve was quickly disappearing as he tried to comfort his distraught wife. Anna shook her head violently.

"No! No it's not," she said forcefully, "If only we'd known."

Mark pulled away from his wife and faced her soberly.

"But we didn't know, Anna." He said quietly. Anna stared into his face numbly. Then she nodded and sat back against the bed again. Her husband moved to sit next to her and they both silently watched the sun rise high into the sky.

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**A/N: I know this seems to have no connection with TNBC, but you have to keep reading to understand ;)**


	2. Chapter One: Thanatopsis

**Chapter One: Thanatopsis***

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to Colin James. When I see him being his crazy self, I see why I take things so seriously. ^^**

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**Death is such an odd thing.**

** It is the most dreaded enemy known to man. It insults the living by striking whoever and wherever and whenever it pleases. It shows no favoritism and refuses to treat anyone with anything but fairness. It brings the greatest grief, for its victims can never be recovered. No one is safe from it. It has no human master to which it heels. In this way, death takes the old and the young, the poor and rich, the guilty and the innocent, the sinner and the saint.**

** -Emily Guthrie (My Own Words)**

Colyn dragged Amanda toward the door. It was half-past two in the morning and they still had an hour long drive to get home. Amanda giggled at a dumb joke Jack was telling her. He trailed behind the two girls like the wake of a boat. The two love birds jabbered together, Jack's speech slightly slurred. Colyn ignored them as she doggedly towed Amanda along.

"Now wait just a minute." Amanda said. She dug her heels into the carpet. Colyn was dragged back like a dog that found the end of its chain. Amanda leaned forward and meaningfully handed her drink to Jack.

"Don't want to take this with me." She said.

"No, you don wanna do tha." Jack agreed stupidly. He laughed, which turned into a coughing fit.

Colyn rolled her eyes and rubbed her temple. Music throbbed loudly throughout the house. People everywhere danced, drank, or lay around in a stupor. Colyn had no idea why she had agreed to come to this party. Even though she'd had a good time dancing with Trevor Smith, she now wished she hadn't come. The pervading smell of beer and wine made her want to retch. She had not touched a drop of alcohol that night. She also made sure she had not left her drink unattended. Too many date rape stories had been told for her to do that.

Amanda turned back to Colyn, her blue eyes dull and her cheeks flushed red.

"Time to go Colyn." she said as she took Colyn's arm in hers. They headed for the door. Jack followed them and stopped to lean heavily against the doorway. Colyn yawned and stumbled down the steps. She sheepishly smiled at Amanda.

"Bbbyyyeee." said Jack, winking at Amanda as he shut the door.

Colyn followed Amanda to her friend's beat up Mustang. Something, the hint of a premonition, scratched at the back of her mind. Amanda opened her purse and rummaged around for a second. Then she looked over at Colyn and held out a hand expectantly.

Now, there are many different types of drunks in the world; for the deceptive substance alcohol affects everyone differently. Some people become raging berserkers with flailing arms and loud voices. Others become vile and hateful, able to strike down the mightiest king with a single wicked word. Many become blissfully comatose while others ramble happily about anything and everything. But Colyn's friend was a very rare type of drunk. When Amanda had too much to drink, her inhibitions flew out the window, replaced by a suave severity that could fool even the strictest lawman. So it was easy for Colyn, exhausted and disorientated from the night's revelry, to hand over the keys to the seemingly-sober Amanda. Both girls climbed into the car. After a few disorderly seconds, Amanda started her car and drove off into the night.

* * *

Even though her eyes were lead heavy, Colyn tried to stay awake to talk to Amanda. Her head bobbed and dipped, sleep trying to claim her. But she fought her sleepiness and chatted on and off with Amanda about the party.

"And you were worried you wouldn't have any fun." Amanda teased, leaning over to shove Colyn's shoulder. Colyn started up in her seat and shook her head sharply. She yawned and stretched, her wild mane of black hair sweeping down over her bare shoulders out of her loose ponytail.

"What didja say?" she asked tiredly. Amanda stuck out her lower lip and batted her eyes.

"Awww," she cooed, "Wittle puppy dog tired?"

Colyn frowned as Amanda snorted derisively. "You have no idea how to really have fun, Colyn." Amanda said importantly, fiddling with the dial for her climate control. Heat blasted out of the vents and washed over them. "Ahh, much better."

The warmth made Colyn's eyes droop, but they snapped back open when Amanda swerved wildly. She looked over at her friend. Amanda was whipping her blonde hair back and forth to a rock song she was singing to herself. Her hands played an invisible guitar.

They came to a strip of road on top of a bluff where Colyn could see clearly ahead. Directly in front of the car, a sharp turn pulled the road out of sight. Colyn paled. Amanda was going too fast and didn't have her hands on the wheel.

"AMANDA!" she shrieked, but it was too late.

The cherry red Mustang flew off the side of the bluff, rocketing at eighty-five miles an hour. It landed heavily, rolled, and struck a tree on the passenger side. Colyn heard a scream, felt something deep inside her snap, and then the world faded to blackness.

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**A/N: I have never killed a main character, and never any character so quickly. *takes picture of Colyn and crumples it up and tosses it over shoulder* But *sticks finger decisively into the air*, for the story to go on, this had to happen. Hope you like it so far. Reviews make me keep writing. **

**Oh, and thanatopsis means "a meditation on death". Random bit of trivial knowledge for ya.**


	3. Chapter Two: The Light at the End

**Chapter Two: The Light at the End**

Colyn opened her eyes and groaned. Her body hurt all over and her head pounded painfully. She gingerly sat up and put her throbbing head in her hands.

'Breathe in, breathe out' she thought, taking deep slow breaths. As she did, the world stopped spinning and eventually righted itself. She slowly lowered her hands from her face and looked around.

She had landed on a patch of dry, sandy ground. Sunlight lit the area around her and she found herself in a circle of trees. In fact, she was surrounded by lots of trees, but the closest ring that encircled her was different from the rest. They had a colorful door set into each of their trunks. There were five in all, and each tree had a differently shaped door. One was shaped like a turkey, another like a Christmas tree, another a shamrock, the next an Easter egg, and the last looked like a jack o' lantern. Colyn somewhat understood.

"They're holidays?" she asked aloud.

"You're awake," said a feminine voice from behind her, "Finally."

Colyn whipped her head around so fast she should have gotten whiplash.

A woman, tall and fair, stepped out from behind a tree into the clearing. Her dark eyes sparkled as she looked down kindly at Colyn still sitting on the ground. Colyn stood up quickly and whipped the dust off her jeans. She turned to confront the stranger.

"Who are you?" she asked, "And where am I?"

The woman held out a hand to her. Colyn stared dumbly and ignored it. Raising an eyebrow, the woman let the hand fall back to her side.

"I'm Aza." she said, slowly circling Colyn as she examined her, "And you're Colyn James, correct?"

"How do you know my name?" Colyn asked defensively as she spun to stay with Aza. She stepped away from the woman and looked her up and down surreptitiously. Dark blue eyes gazed out from under a waterfall of snow white hair. Her skin was the color of porcelain and looked just as delicate. Everything about her was ethereal and beautiful; as close to angelic as they came.

"Because I've been waiting for you." Aza answered. She stepped closer to Colyn and gently fingered a sliver of her wild black hair, "Waiting to place you."

Colyn jumped away and glared at her.

"What are you talking about? I don't know what you are smoking but I don't have time for this." Then she turned and began stalking away through the trees. She had no idea where she was or where she was going, but she wanted to get away from the woman behind her.

Aza smiled and snapped her fingers. Colyn felt a tugging sensation and then she found herself back next to Aza. She whirled to look at the woman, who was laughing. It was a pretty, tinkling sound that was almost infectious.

"What-how-what did you do?" sputtered Colyn. Aza stopped laughing and wiped a tear from her eye.

"Oh, that never gets old." She said, her voice mirthful. Then she squared her shoulders and looked seriously at Colyn.

"'Placing' you, my dear, means finding where you belong." Colyn stared at her blankly. Aza sighed and gestured at the doors around them, "To which holiday you belong."

Colyn paused and then rubbed her temples with her fingers.

"Maybe I ate something before bed…" she said quietly. The light of understanding came into Aza's eyes and she furrowed her brow.

"Oh," she whispered, placing a hand over her mouth. Colyn looked at her.

"What?"

Aza stepped forward and laid a hand on Colyn's forearm piteously.

"Don't you remember," she asked, "The crash; the injury?"

Colyn felt dread begin to creep into the pit of her stomach.

"Crash?" she wondered.

"Yes," Aza explained, "You were in a wreck. You didn't make it…"

* * *

It felt as if Colyn had taken a punch to the stomach.

She did remember. She remembered the car flying off the road. She remembered the car rolling, Amanda screaming, glass breaking. She remembered the spine jarring- no, spine breaking- stop when the car had slammed up against a tree. But the thing she remembered most was the deep pain that she had felt before the darkness had enveloped her.

She remembered flying down a tunnel. She had seen the light at the end. She remembered being slammed into by someone not once, but twice. She remembered sailing off course; spinning away toward a hole in the wall but instead slipping through a crack in the fabric of time and space. She remembered falling, and then nothing…

She has died. Colyn. Had. Died.

'_No!_' her mind cried, rejecting the thought. But even as she did, the heaviness of truth settled onto her shoulders. Tears blurred her vision as she sank to her knees on the ground. Her body shook as panic and hysteria began to paralyze her. She felt numb as everything came crashing down around her.

Aza knelt down next to her and placed a hand gently on Colyn's head. Colyn cried until she had no tears left to cry. Then she wiped her face with her t-shirt and looked up at Aza with red-rimmed eyes full of a sudden defiance.

"Okay," she said, her voice still weak and quavering, "Now that I'm dead….what's next?"

Aza smiled at her.

"You think I have all the answers?"

Colyn shrugged, feeling surly. Aza laughed and walked to the center of trees. She turned to Colyn and held out her hands in a grand sweeping gesture. "Fortunately for you, I do have the answer to one question."

"What?"

"Which holiday to place you under."

Colyn looked around at the different doors arrayed around her and frowned.

"Hang on," she said, "I thought dead people went to heaven or hell. That's what I always heard in Sunday school."

Aza scratched her head and shrugged.

"I don't know everything, Colyn," she replied nonchalantly, "All I know is that you came here to me and that it is now my responsibility to place you where you best belong."

Out of curiosity, Colyn had held her breath as Aza spoke. After a few awkward moments of silence, in which Aza stared questionably at Colyn, Colyn realized she didn't need air. Finally, she looked back at Aza.

"And where would that be?" she asked. Aza pivoted and dramatically pointed.

"There!" she proclaimed, her finger sticking arrow-straight toward….the jack o' lantern?

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**A/N: Guess where Colyn's goin'? XD  
**


	4. Chapter Three: Through the Looking Glass

**Chapter Three: Through the Looking Glass**

"What?!" griped Colyn, surprised and a little doubtful, "Halloween? Why Halloween? Why not Thanksgiving, or Christmas? I've been good this year."

Aza laughed breathily, then her face sobered.

"I would have placed you in Thanksgiving, had you been exceptionally thankful; and Christmas placement requires an unusual amount of goodwill toward your fellow mankind, which you didn't have."

Colyn frowned at the past tense. '_Don't_' she thought stubbornly to herself, '_I don't have_'. She cast her gaze around at all the other doors.

"What about them?"

Aza pointed at the other doors in turn.

"St. Patrick's Day requires a lot of luck. You only had the average amount. Easter requires innocence and faith. You…I don't know. You just don't belong there. And Valentine's Day," here she motioned behind the first ring of trees to a second ring. Colyn looked and saw a tree with a big, red door in the shape of a heart set into its trunk, "requires true love." Aza paused and looked sideways at Colyn, "You're too young to have ever felt that."

"So why Halloween?"

"Halloween only requires mischief. I know for a fact that you were a little hellion before you shaped up."

Colyn blushed and nodded.

"So," Aza continued, "that's why I'm placing you in Halloween."

She walked to the pumpkin shaped door and opened it. Immediately, a cold wind rushed out and whipped around the trees, causing them to moan and shake. The wind howled and tore at Colyn, drawing her forward like a hand pulling her in.

Colyn shuddered and jumped when a blood curdling scream rang out from somewhere deep inside the tree. Aza calmly beckoned her forward. Colyn cautiously walked over and fearfully peered down into the trunk. She saw something and turned back to Aza, confused.

"What is that?" she asked. Aza came to stand next to her and looked where Colyn pointed. A shimmering pool shifted and swirled in the tree's interior. Colyn didn't know what to even compare it too. The closest thing she could think of was a liquid mirror with many different colors of light.

"It's just the portal," Aza explained dismissively, "But it also doubles as a mirror. Take a look."

Colyn curiously peered down onto the reflexive surface. Then she reeled back in shock. Her reflection stared back at her, completely transformed.

The creature before her was so remarkably different from herself, yet so similar that it was recognizable as herself. It had blue-tinted skin, glowing green eyes, pointed ears, and a mischievous grin that showed, thankfully, normal teeth. The awkwardness that had always plagued Colyn for being an outsider was gone, replaced by a fierce confidence that made the creature's face glow. Colyn's attractive features were now amplified to such an unearthly beauty Colyn dared not believe it.

'_She looks like a queen of the night…_' she thought, but out loud she asked in breathless wonder:

"Is that really me?"

"Why don't you find out?" asked Aza from behind. Colyn began to turn around when two hands pushed her hard. Her arms pin-wheeled as she tried to regain her balance, but she couldn't. She tripped on a tree's root and fell backward. Down she went and for the third time in twenty-four hours, Colyn fell into absolute blackness.

* * *

Aza walked quietly forward and looked down into the hole where Colyn had fell. She waved her hand over the portal door and it cleared. She saw Colyn falling, screaming and spiraling down. She smiled, her eyes beginning to glow a pale, starry, white.

"Watch out Halloween Town." she said, her voice coming out sounding like a song with many voices singing a different part, "Your world is about to change forever."

Aza stood back and shut the door.

* * *

Locke and Barrel huddled down behind a snowdrift, silently waiting to hear the sound of Shocke's tell-tale laugh give away her position away. Both boys guarded a precious pile of snowballs which they would use as ammunition. Snowflakes glided down toward the ground, casting a rain of minuscule shadows over the graveyard. The moon sat complacently in the night sky, happy to illuminate the darkness with her rich, pure glow. The headstones cast long shadows, perfect for hiding in.

"Where is she?" squeaked Barrel, his young voice tight with tension.

"She'll be here." replied Locke. He swallowed, still not liking the way his voice sounded. It had grown deeper as he had slowly aged.

"HEY!" cried a shrill voice from behind. The boys jumped and turned, only to be bombarded with a wall of white. They were overwhelmed by the flurry of snowballs being thrown like machine-gun fire. Shocke howled with laughter.

"Stop!" squealed Barrel, covering his face with his arms. Locke, though, hurled himself forward, his devil's tale swishing back and forth like an angry snake. He flew across the snow and slammed in Shocke, knocking the little witch off her feet. The two wrestled in the snow as Barrel watched fearfully from the safety of his fort.

"Brat!" shouted Locke, trying to sink his sharp teeth into Shocke's shoulder.

"Demon!" she spat and kicked Locke hard in the chest. The costumed boy sailed through the air and landed with a poof of white in another snow drift.

Luckily, it was a deep drift, having accumulated over a long period of time due to the early winter in Halloween Town. Ever since the whole "Halloween/Christmas" ordeal about thirty-five years ago, Jack had made a pact with Santa Claus that Halloween Town would have snow just like the human world.

Not much had changed since then. The town still looked the same, creepy and dilapidated. The residents still did their best to embody Halloween in person. But the things that had changed were not new or unfamiliar anymore. New spirits and monsters had appeared to take up residence in town. Also, creatures who had once been children had grown into their permanent ages and looks. Some hadn't grown much though, like Locke, Shocke, and Barrel.

The biggest change to have taken place had been the arrival of Jack and Sally's first and only son. His birth had caused a great stir, since it was the first birth in Halloween Town for many decades. By now, the handsome Cullen Bone Skellington was grown up and soon due to take up his father's mantle and claim the throne of the Pumpkin King. But the group playing in the graveyard didn't care about the changes that had come about over the years. Steadfastly, they held onto the ways and acted as if nothing had changed.

Locke popped his head up and shook the snow off his horns, madder than a cornered rattlesnake. Shocke rolled on the ground, cackling in malevolent pleasure. Locke gathered some snow into his hands and pulled back to throw.

"Oh, I'm so gonna ki-" he snarled, but Barrel, looking up, shouted:

"LOOK OUT!"

Locke looked up and his eyes grew wide. Quickly, he climbed out of the drift and scurried a few feet away to stand next to Shocke and Barrel. The three children watched as a body fell out of the sky, spiraling slowly. Down it came, heading toward the drift where Locke had been only a moment ago. Down, down, down and then…

WHAM!

The snowdrift exploded outward in a wave of sparkling crystal flakes. The snow covered the children. Then everything settled, and all became silent. No one moved or dared even to breathe.

Locke was the first to move. He wiped the snow out of his eyes and cautiously moved forward. Shocke grabbed his arm.

"Wait." She whispered, fear in her voice.

"I'm just gonna look." He hissed back, shrugging off her hand. Then he stepped toward the creature lying supine in the snow. The snow crunched excessively loud underfoot, and Barrel winced with each of Locke's steps. But the thing didn't move, and Locke reached it safely. Tense and ready to bolt, he leaned over to get a better look.

Locke had never had a crush on any girl. The only girl around remotely close to his age was Shocke, so he'd never even given a glancing thought to the subject of "love". He shuddered just thinking about it. But when Locke looked down on the figure lying in the snow, his evil heart did a funny little flip-flop.

A young woman sprawled unconscious on the ground. Her skin was without flaw or blemish and tinted the palest sky-blue. Black, radiant hair splayed in gorgeous waves around an uncannily pretty face. Everything about her was fair and lovely. On a whim, Locke reached down and gently poked the woman on the cheek. Then he retreated, watching for a reaction. But there was none. He examined her and suddenly noticed that she was not breathing. Panicked, he turned to barrel and Shocke.

"Gat Jack!" he commanded.

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**A/N: Ah, here we are in Halloween Town. Finally. Drop some reviews!  
**


	5. Chapter Four: New Arrival

**A/N: It has been a long time coming, but *fanfare* here it be peoples! Chapter four! Hope you like it.**

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**Chapter Four: New Arrival**

**ONLY 23 DAYS LEFT UNTIL HALLOWEEN!**

Written by: Mayor Squeamish

**Fellow citizens of Halloween Town! We are now less than a month away from that blessed time of the year. Halloween! Since we are so close, I have outlined this year's plan for…**

Jack sighed, a sound like dry bones rattling in a chilly breeze, and closed the newspaper in his lap. Sally looked up from her book with curious eyes.

"What's the matter Jack?" she asked. Jack set his chin in one bony hand and looked distractedly into the fireplace. The flickering flames danced over the logs, casting shadows on the wall. He felt a hand on his knee and looked down.

Sally looked adoringly up at him, kneeling at his feet. Her brown hair fell prettily around her face and partly obscured one of her piercing blue eyes. The stitches that had once crisscrossed her face had healed over and were now nothing more than scars. She didn't worry about falling apart anymore. Jack leaned down and took both of Sally's hands in his. He kissed them, and then pulled her up as he stood. Sally wrapped her arms around him and they began rocking slowly back and forth.

"Every year is the same," Jack explained, "Nothing changes," He stepped out of the embrace, and began pacing, "I remember a time, before my father was Pumpkin King, when ghouls and goblins and ghosts ran amuck in the human world. We danced hand in hand with night creatures in revelry." He stopped pacing, "Where did those days go?"

Sally frowned, concerned, and took his hand in hers. She rubbed the back of it with her thumb.

"Jack," she said warily, "Remember what happened last time you tried to change things up."

Jack shook her off.

"Yes, yes, I know." He said dismissively. He began pacing again then looked up as someone pounded on the front door.

There came the sound of the door opening, two voices talking indistinctly (one very frantic), and then the door closing. A handsome face poked itself into the room. Bone, their son, furrowed his chiseled brow at his parents.

"That was Barrel," Bone said, "He says that he, Locke, and Shocke found something in the graveyard."

"What could they have found in the graveyard that's worth bothering us at this hour," Jack asked, "There's only sleepers and tombstones in there and I've told them not to skulk around in there."

Bone shrugged.

"He sounded pretty frantic. He just wanted you to go to the graveyard."

"You better go then…I guess," said Sally. Jack sighed and walked toward the door. He went to grab the knob, but Bone opened the door for him.

"I'll come with you," he said. Jack looked at his son.

He had stopped growing at about the age of twenty, making him fit and handsome. His skin was light blue like Sally's, but the similarities ended there. He was not as tall as Jack, nor was he skeletal at all. He had a lean, muscular frame that he carried with confidence. His face was exceptionally handsome; with glowing yellow eyes, chiseled features, and a rugged mouth perfect for his common smirks and cocky smiles.

"Alright," Jack conceded, "Let's go."

* * *

When the two arrived at the graveyard, they found Locke, Shocke, and Barrel huddled warily around scattered drifts of snow. Locke pointed to what appeared to be the epicenter of a small explosion. Jack looked at the three children.

"What happened?" he asked. Shocke stepped forward.

"We three were playing in the graveyard," she paused as Jack glared at her, "When someone fell from the sky."

Bone smirked, his lips slanting sideways.

"People don't fall from the sky," he said, "Not in this world anyway."

Barrel piped up then.

"She did!"

"Who did?" asked Jack. Locke pointed again.

"She did." he said, his tail waving slowly back and forth.

Jack moved forward toward the largest snow drift. When he reached it, he looked down and gasped. Bone rushed forward to stand by his father's side. They both looked at the figure lying prone in the snow.

Bone noticed how similar she was to himself. She was more beautiful than any other creature he'd ever seen.

"A faery," Jack breathed. Quickly he reached down and waved his bone hand over the girl's face. Orange sparks floated down and settled over the girl's face. She gasped as breath filled her lungs, but she didn't wake. Jack gently picked up the limp body. He looked at Bone.

"Give me your cloak," he said to the young man. Bone hesitated and then unclipped the heavy, black cloak from around his neck. He draped it over Jack's shoulders.

"Why do you want i-" he began to ask, but Jack hissed at him.

"Arrange it so it covers her." He commanded. Bone moved the thick fabric to hide the girl. Jack turned to Locke, Shocke, and Barrel.

"You three," he said, "Go home." His eye narrowed, "And if I hear that either of you two," he indicated Locke and Barrel, "has mentioned any of this to Boogie…I. Will. Kill. You."

Locke and Barrel stepped back, shocked. Then they turned and scuttled away. Jack turned to Shocke, "Same for you," he growled, "Don't tell either of the old hags about this."

Shocke nodded and then ran off. Bone watched her go, and then turned to Jack.

"What was that all about?"

"No questions," Jack answered, "Not a word until we get home." He glared at Bone and turned, the cloak flaring out behind him. Bone followed silently after.

* * *

When they arrived at home, Jack shrugged off Bone's cloak.

"Close the shutters," he instructed. Bone quickly moved to obey. He heard Jack call out:

"Sally! Prepare a bed! And get some hot water. Also, bring me Nightshade and my bottle!"

Bone finished closing the shutters as Sally poked her head into the front hall.

"What's going on?" she asked. Bone shrugged and followed Jack into the living room.

Jack laid the girl out on a couch. Then he grabbed a blanket and spread it over her. Bone watched as his father dashed around the room, muttering to himself.

"Thought the barrier was closed," he was saying as he skimmed the titles of books lining the bookshelf, "I was there when he closed it up. Such a long time ago I thought surely…AHA!"

Bone jumped as Jack pulled a book off the shelf. It was small, and bound in rich purple leather. Jack opened the book and flipped through the pages. He studied one and then looked up as Sally entered the room.

She carried a miniature cauldron and two bottles. One was marked "Nightshade Extract" and the other was unmarked. She handed both to Jack and he cleared a small table so she could set down the steaming cauldron.

"Bone," he said suddenly, "Run out back and get me some dirt."

"Dirt?" Bone began to ask, but a sharp look from his mother silenced him. Sighing, Bone left the room and walked through the house. He walked into the kitchen and out the back door.

The cool night air washed over him. He shivered and ran to the tool shed. Opening the door, he stepped back as a few stray bats flitted out. Quickly, he found a trowel and closed the door of the shed. He stooped down onto the grass and stabbed the trowel into the dirt.

The soft earth gave way and he soon he had a nice pile of rich, black dirt. He scooped it up in his hands and went back inside to Jack.

"Here," he said curtly. Jack looked up from his book.

"Perfect," he concluded, "Put it into the pot."

Bone did as he was told. Sally stirred the mixture into a thick mud paste. Jack poured it a dash of nightshade, and then consulted the book again.

Carefully, he uncapped the unmarked bottle. Out streamed a swirl of deep blue fog. Jack waved the fog away and gently tipped the bottle over the cauldron. Out came a viscous, swirling liquid the color of a clear night sky; deep, dark, black. Bone inhaled and caught a whiff of the liquid's scent. It was clean and fresh, with a hint of something like…like…starlight.

When the liquid touched the mud, it hissed and spat. More blue fog poured up. Jack waved it away impatiently and stirred the mixture.

"What is that?" Bone asked in curiosity. Jack looked up at him.

"Deep Dark extract," he said seriously, "Pure nighttime in a bottle. Very poisonous stuff by itself." Jack took a finger and swiped out some of the mud paste. He wiped it over the closed eyelids of the unconscious girl lying on the couch, "But when mixed with nightshade, it can be used as a cure-all for faerys."

Bone watched in amazement as the paste bubbled and then melted away, leaving no trace on the flawless skin underneath. Jack grabbed up Bone's abandoned cloak and threw it across his shoulders.

"I'm going out to speak with Zicora," he said to Bone. As he turned to leave, he called to Sally, "Keep putting that paste over her eyes until it stops melting away. Then leave it alone. Hopefully, she should wake up in a few hours. I'll be back by morning."

Bone and Sally watched as Jack opened the door and walked out into the night. He called for Zero, and then all was quiet.

* * *

**A/N: I've started chapter five by the way. In case anyone cares. :D  
**


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